Recipe: Pureed Carrot Soup

Woo - two posts in one day!

This was the first soup I tried in my personalized cook-book. It was delicious. I recommend making at least the full recipe (as long as you're confident you'll like it) and refrigerating/freezing single-serving tupperware with the left overs. Less work and as long as you make a few recipes a week, you'll have some good variety.

What you need

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, or the same amount of vegetable or olive oil
• 1 medium onion, 3 medium shallots, or 1 medium leek (white and light green parts only), chopped
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry or white wine
• 1.5 lbs carrots (about 8 medium), peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced thin (about 4 cups)
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth or low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• ground white pepper
• pinch ground nutmeg
• 1-1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon, mint, chives, or parsley

What you do

• Heat butter or oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; saute until golden, about 5 minutes. 
• Add sherry and carrots; stir constantly and cook until sherry evaporates, about 30 seconds.
• Add broth, salt, pepper to taste, and nutmeg to saucepan; bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer cover and cook until carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.
• Ladle carrot mixture into blender. Add 1 cup milk; blend until very smooth. Return soup to saucepan; cook over low heat until warmed through. If soup is too thick, stir in additional milk to thin consistency. Adjust seasonings.
• The tarragon, mint, chives, or parsley are meant as garnishes - you can either skip them or toss them in the blender with the soup!
• Soup is good in the refrigerator for about 3 days